We all know that cats are attracted to boxes, but what about circles? Thankfully, the internet is conducting a highly scientific experiment regarding the behavioral psychology of cats, and many feline scientists have thoroughly tested their hypotheses.

There are several reasons why cats love boxes, but the big one is safety and security, says Marilyn Krieger, a certified cat behavior consultant and owner of TheCatCoach.com.

In fact, a recent study in the journal Applied Animal Behaviour Science found that boxes can actually help reduce a cat’s stress levels. A group of new shelter cats were randomly assigned to either receive a box or not. After just a few days, researchers reported that the cats that were given boxes recovered faster and adapted to their environment more quickly than the cats without boxes.

But how do we scientifically test the effects of a circle on a cat? Well, we’re here to help.